easyBoat

Highlights

• Backed by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Founder of easyJet and easyGroup

• Second crowdfunding round, having raised €469,718 from 141 investors 2 years ago

• Significant revenue growth, with €1.2M in projected Gross Booking Value in 2024

• First-of-its-kind boat price comparison and flight matching feature

• Increased fleet size from 10,000 to 50,000 boats in under 2 years

Problem

The yacht charter market is highly fragmented, forcing customers to search multiple sites for the best price. This inefficiency creates frustration and leads to higher costs for consumers. Many platforms lack transparency, and information about boat ownership and pricing is often unclear.

Solution

easyBoat addresses these issues with a centralised platform that offers transparency, convenience, and resilience in the yacht charter booking process. By integrating brokers and boat owners onto a single platform, easyBoat simplifies and enhances the user experience, making yacht charters easier and more accessible for everyone.

easyBoat offers distinct advantages to both holiday-makers and boat owners, creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem. For holiday-makers, the platform provides instant boat price comparison on a single page, ensuring transparency and credibility in every booking. Additionally, features like flight matching and a planned reviews system enhance the overall experience, allowing travellers to make fully informed decisions.

For boat owners, easyBoat boosts brand awareness and serves as an additional marketing channel, helping to increase bookings. Owners can communicate effortlessly with potential customers through integrated chatbot features, while the platform provides credibility and potential for direct bookings, bypassing traditional broker reliance.

Business Model

easyBoat generates revenue through a combination of commission-based fees and premium listing options. For every successful booking made on the platform, easyBoat charges a 12% commission, ensuring a steady and scalable income stream. This performance-based revenue model aligns the platform’s success with the volume of bookings made.

Additionally, easyBoat offers sponsored listings and placement in the Top 10 search results for operators looking to increase visibility and bookings, adding an extra layer of monetization through premium services. Future revenue opportunities include launching an affiliate program, which would further expand the platform’s reach and revenue channels by partnering with influencers and third-party platforms.

Market

The global yacht charter market is experiencing significant growth, projected to expand from €15.2 billion in 2018 to €27 billion by 2027, representing a 7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This expansion is driven by increasing demand for unique and luxury travel experiences, as well as the growing trend of consumers seeking more flexible and personalized holiday options. easyBoat is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market by offering a scalable, user-friendly platform that meets the evolving needs of both consumers and boat owners.

Go-to-Market Strategy

easyBoat employs a dual-pronged approach to drive user acquisition and brand visibility through both organic and paid marketing channels. Organically, the platform leverages SEO/SEM, press releases, strategic partnerships, and brand collaborations to build authority and attract users. On the paid side, online marketing, podcasts, magazine ads, and sponsorships will drive targeted awareness in key markets. By combining both strategies, easyBoat ensures a steady stream of bookings, enhanced visibility for sponsored listings, and new affiliations. Initial focus markets include the UK and Germany, where targeted campaigns will accelerate growth and monetisation.

Traction

Since our first crowdfunding round, easyBoat has demonstrated considerable progress, expanding our platform and improving our offerings for both users and boat owners. With strategic updates and new hires, the platform continues to gain momentum in the yacht charter industry, making the booking process smoother and more efficient.

Key achievements include:

• Substantial Growth in Fleet Size: Expanded from 5,000 boats at the end of 2022, to 10,000 by the end of 2023, and currently reaching 50,000 boats. This rapid expansion significantly enhances our offerings for users and boat owners alike.

• Impressive Increase in Gross Booking Value (GBV): In the first seven months of 2024, GBV reached €953,000, a remarkable growth compared to the €128,000 recorded during 2023.

• Growth in User Base and Engagement: Increased users from 500 to over 20,000, and the average booking value grew from €3,500 to €7,500.

These advancements have not only improved the user experience but also strengthened our relationships with boat owners eager to list on the platform.

As seen in the visual below, easyBoat has rolled out a variety of impactful features that enhance the platform’s usability, allowing for instant availability, seamless boat tours, and efficient communication between users and owners. In addition, key hires have been made to support marketing and customer service, positioning the company for continued growth and success.

Competition & Differentiation

While the yacht charter industry has several established players, easyBoat stands out with its unique value propositions that cater to both holiday-makers and boat owners. The platform addresses key market inefficiencies with features that elevate the user experience and streamline the booking process:

• Industry-First Boat Price Comparison: easyBoat offers the first comprehensive boat price comparison feature, allowing users to compare prices across multiple brokers and boat owners, something no other platform in the market provides.

• Flight Matching: easyBoat simplifies trip planning by integrating flight matching, saving users time and effort by allowing them to book both yacht charters and flights in a seamless process.

• Global Brand Recognition: Backed by the easyGroup brand, easyBoat benefits from widespread customer trust and brand equity, providing a significant advantage over competitors in terms of brand credibility.

By leveraging these differentiators, easyBoat is well-positioned to capture significant market share and set new standards in the yacht charter industry.

Team

The easyBoat team is composed of seasoned entrepreneurs and industry experts with extensive experience in yachting, digital marketing, and startup ecosystem building. Their combined expertise gives them the diverse perspectives needed to scale a venture like easyBoat. Having successfully grown the platform over the past two years, they’ve proven their capability to navigate challenges and achieve sustained growth.

The team’s leadership brings together a unique blend of skills in innovation, operational excellence, and strategic marketing, positioning easyBoat to continue its trajectory of success in the competitive yacht charter market.

Financials

easyBoat has seen consistent growth in its Gross Booking Value (GBV) throughout 2024, with significant month-over-month increases. As illustrated in the chart, the company started with €145K in January 2024, reaching €250K in March, and continuing strong through the summer, projecting a total GBV of €1.2M for the year. This demonstrates the platform's accelerating momentum and the increasing demand for its services.

For context, easyBoat achieved €128K in GBV for the whole 2023, and in just the first seven months of 2024, the company has generated nearly €953K. These figures underscore the scalability and success of easyBoat's business model as it continues to capture more market share.

Allocation of First Round Funds

Following our first crowdfunding round, easyBoat strategically allocated the raised funds to fuel growth and enhance our platform:

Further detailed financial data for 2022 and 2023 in the form of audited financial statements, are available in the documents section.

Funding Ask & Use of Funds

easyBoat is seeking to raise between €300K and €1.5M to accelerate growth and expand its operations. The funds will be strategically deployed across three key areas to ensure continued success and development:

1. Product Development: Enhance the platform’s user experience by adding new features such as improved payment options, an affiliation model, and additional languages and currencies. Focus will also be on optimising performance through local servers and adding new revenue streams like sponsored listings.

2. Admin and Team Building: Build a dedicated in-house development team and bolster our marketing and customer support teams. This includes hiring senior and junior developers, a marketing manager, a content creator, and additional customer support staff to handle a growing user base.

3. Marketing and Sponsorships: Allocate funds to both online and offline marketing initiatives, including digital campaigns, sponsorships, and events aimed at increasing user acquisition and growing brand awareness in key markets.

Marketing spend and operational scaling will be adjusted based on the success of the fundraising campaign, allowing easyBoat to adapt flexibly to various funding levels.